Shipping crate



J. P. KUBES SHIPPING CRATE May 1, 1934.

Filed June 8. 1931 I N VEN TOR. L/a/mj #5195 ay 6 M; ATTORNEY.

Patented May 1, 1934 SHIPPING CRATE John P. Kubes, Cleveland, Ohio, assig'nor to American Wood Products Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of South Carolina Application June 8, 1931 Serial No. 542,769 y.

7 Claims.

This invention relates to shipping crates in which heavy and breakable articles are to be shipped and, more particularly, the invention relates to crates having a V-shape which are to. be used where the object to be crated is more securely retained by a crate of this shape.

In the shipping of heavy and breakable articles such as wash-downs and the like, a crate which will securely enclose the article and have sufiicient strength to resist stresses arising from the weight of the article when the crate is handled is necessary. A crate made up of wooden slabs and bound with Wireis found to be satisfactory in these particulars, but difliculty arises in securely closing the open ends of the crate. It has been customary to close these ends by means of cross pieces nailed to cleats but this method has been far from satisfactory due to the fact that the crate containing the heavy article must be turned over during the handling operation and also because the nailed cross pieces may give way when the crate is lifted, thereby. Also, in driving nails through the cleats into the end pieces during assembly, the nails may split the cleat, thereby totally ruining the entire crate for use or, it may often happen that the nail runs out atone side of the end piece when not driven absolutely straight, the exposed point sometimes damaging the ware which is being shipped with complete loss of the goods, since the article must then be replaced by another piece of ware. It has now been discovered that this method of closing the ends of a crate may be replaced by a less costly and safer method.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a means for closing crates of the above described type which is more economical and safer than those now in use. Another object of the invention is to provide a crate which is cheaper to assemble and more serviceable in use. A further objectof the invention is to provide a shipping crate which is lighter in weight and requires less lumber to manufacture. To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends,

said invention, then, consists of the means hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The annexed drawing and the following description set forth in detail certain mechanism embodying the invention, such disclosed means constituting, however, but one of various mechanical forms inwhich the principle of the invention may be used.

in said annexed drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a completed crate enclosing an article to be shipped; Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation showing one manner of joining cross-piece and cleat; Fig. 3 is a perspective of the end of a cross-piece corresponding to Fig. 2; Figs. 4 2ml 5 are sectional elevations showing no modified forms of joined cross-pieces and cleats; and Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective views of tongued'; ends of cross-pieces shown in Figs. 4 and 5, respectively.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawing, a crate 8 encloses a wash-down 9. The crate may consist of a flat mat made up of thin slabs l1 fastened to cleats 12 adjacent the ends of the slabs. Wires 13 are attached to the slabs 11 by means of staple; 14 in such manner that the mat may be folded together and the ends of the wires twisted to form a structure open at either end. The cleats 12 are joined as at 15 to strengthen the crate. It will be seen from Fig. 1 that the crate is V- shaped to accommodate the article contained therein, but the shape of the crate may be varied according to the contour of the product which it is desired to ship.

The above construction is inexpensive to manufacture and provides all the strength necessary to ship fairly heavy articles, but it is necessary to close the ends of the crate in some manner and this has caused difliculty and increased the cost of, crating considerably. It is customary to close these ends by means of cross-pieces which g are nailed between two of the cleats 12 by means of nails driven through the cleat and into the end of the cross-piece. When one end of the cross-piece has been nailed, the crate with its contents must be lifted and turned over in order that the other end may be nailed and the labor involved is exhausting and expensive in proportion to the esult accomplished. It is also necessary to provide a crosspiece of substantial thickness in order to retain the nails driven 95 thereinto and there is the additional cost of the nails required, increased by the number of nails I bent and thrown away. I have now discovered that a crate may be completely put together without using nails to hold the cross-pieces, pro- 100 vided the cross-pieces are cut with projections on their ends which fit into corresponding depressions in oppositely disposed cleats, the cleat 16 being so prepared. Inmy preferred construction, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, cross-piece 16 is cut with two pegs 17 which fit into corresponding holes 18 in the cleat 12. The pegs need not conform to the shape of the holes, but it is only necessary that a driving fit be secured and I have found that the least expensive method is 110 to cut the pegs 17 square and to form the holes 18 with a bit, the square wooden pegs conforming sufficiently to the round holes to retain the crosspiece firmly in place. The other end of the cross-piece will likewise be provided with pegs which fit into the holes in the opposite cleat.

It will readily be seen that a crate having the new feature may be assembled more easily and with greater speed than a nailed crate. In place of driving nails through the cleat and crosspiece, turning over the heavy contents and the crate to nail the opposite side, it is merely necessary to set the cross-piece in the bottom cleat enough to retain the former in place and then fold the top of the crate over the cross-piece, whereupon a few blows of a hammer on the top of the crate will set the cross-piece firmly in place. The wires 13 may then be twisted and the crate is ready to be shipped.

While the construction described above, characterized by a cross-piece with pegs or dowels on eachend engaging holes in oppositely disposed cleats, is found to be particularly inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble, other means of joining cross-piece and cleats may be used, such as those illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. In these, either a cross-piece having a single tongue as shown in Fig. 7 or a cross-piece having a double tongue as shown in Fig. 6 may be used, the cleats having a corresponding groove or grooves cut therein. The double grooves 19 and 21 as shown in Fig. 6 have the advantage over the single groove 22 shown in Fig. 7 in that a width of stock may be left between the grooves 19 and 21 in the cleat so as to strengthen the joint against a lateral pull. In the case of a single groove, this must be made thick enough to have adequate strength, but increasing the thickness of the tongue reduces the thickness of the walls of the cleat on either side thereof with the possible result that this wall may be ruptured. The particular modiflcation used will depend upon the size of the crate and cleats, it being sometimes possible to use the single tongue which is less expensive to make than the double tongue. The manner of assembling the crate with the tongue and groove constructions is similar to that employed with the peg construction.

My new crate results in savings in both labor and materials, it notbeing necessary to 'turn the crate end for end with its heavy contents during assembly and'the use of eight or more nails being avoided. It is also much simpler to drive the pegs or tongue into place in the holes provided in the cleats than it is to hold the crosspieces by means of nails. It will often happen during nailing that a nail will not be. driven straight or will be bent resulting in increased consumption of time and waste of a nail. It is also necessary to make the cross-piece 16 of substantial thickness in order to provide sufficient body to hold nails, but with the present construction, the thickness of these cross-pieces may be onehalf, with a consequent saving of lumber. The use of less lumberalso results in the saving of shipping costs of the crate both from the manufacturer of the crate to the shipper of the article to be crated and from the shipper to the consumer. It is found that about seventy-five per .cent. of the cost of assembling a crate is saved by doing awaywith theold nailed constructiondue to the avoidance of the necessity for lifting and turning the heavy loaded crate, this labor slowing down and exhausting the workmen. In fact, three of the new style crates may be packed in the time taken to pack one of the old style crates. When it is considered that these crates are manufactured and used in large numbers, the saving in labor, nails and lumber amounts to a considerable item and the present crate does away with numerous complaints relating to costs and inconvenience among shippers.

The newcrate is much safer and stronger and adequately protects heavy breakable articles in transit. The loaded crate is most conveniently lifted by grasping one of the cross-pieces 16 and much breakage resulted from the giving way of the nails holding this cross-piece to the cleats but, with the peg or tongue construction used herein, the entire weight of crate and contents may safely be supported by the cross-piece.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of the following claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A crate comprising a mat including four sections and three hinges therein, the end edges of the mat being provided respectively with coacting fastening means, said mat forming an opposed top member and bottom member, one member of which carries an element of the aforesaid fastening means, said top being spaced and braced from said bottom bymeans of a stiff central cross. piece spaced from the remaining sections, and connecting means between one end of said cross piece and the aforesaid one member comprising dowel like elements and recesses therefor.

2. A crate comprising a mat including four sections and three hinges therein,the end edges of the mat being provided respectively with coacting fastening means, said mat forming an opposed top and bottom, one of which carries an element of the aforesaid fastening means, said top being spaced and braced from said bottom by means of a stiff central cross piece spaced from the remaining sections, and connecting means between both 120 ends of said cross piece and the aforesaid top and bottom comprising dowel like elements and recesses therefor.

3. A crate comprising a mat including four sections and three hinges therein, the end edges of 125 the mat being provided respectively with coacting fastening means, said mat forming an opposed top member and bottom member, one member of which carries an element of the aforesaid fastening means, said top being spaced and 130 braced from said bottom by means of a stiff central cross piece spaced from the remaining sections, and connecting means between one end of said cross piece and the aforesaid one member comprising an integral projection on said cross piece and a recess in said one member therefor.

4. A crate comprising a mat including four sections and three hinges therein, the end edges of the mat being provided respectively with coacting fastening means, said mat forming an opposed top member and bottom member, one member of which carries an'element of the aforesaid fastening means, said top being spaced and braced from said bottom by means of a stiff central cross piece spaced from the remaining sections, and 145 connecting means between one end of said cross piece and the aforesaid one member comprising an integral square projection and a round recess therefor.

5. A crate comprising a mat including four sec- 150 tions and three hinges therein, the end edges of the mat being provided respectively with coacting fastening means, said mat forming an opposed top member and bottom member, one member of which carries an element of the aforesaid fastening means, said top being spaced and braced from said bottom by means of a stiff central cross piece spaced from the remaining sections, and connecting means between one end of said cross piece and the aforesaid one member comprising a tongue and recess therefor.

6. A crate comprising a mat including four sections and three hinges therein, the end edges of the mat being provided respectively with coacting fastening means, said mat forming an opposed top member and bottom member, one member of which carries an element of the aforesaid fastening means, said top being spaced and braced from said bottom by means of a stiff central cross piece spaced from the remaining sections, and connecting means between one end of said cross piece and the aforesaid one member comprising a pair of tongues and a pair of recesses therefor.

'7. A crate comprising a mat including four sections and three hinges therein, the end edges of the mat being provided respectively with coacting fastening means, said mat forming an opposed top and bottom, one of which carries an element of the aforesaid fastening means, said top being spaced and braced from said bottom by means of a stiff central cross piece spaced from the remaining sections, and connecting means between both ends of said cross piece and the aforesaid top and bottom comprising integral square projections on said cross piece and round recesses in said top and bottom therefor.

JOHN P. KUBES. 

